Hudson Lake Fishing

[coyote]

Any one fishing Hudson this winter?

[coyote]

Caught three last weekend up the river by big cabin creek. We will go again either Friday or Saturday and fish by Salina highway 20 bridge, if the wind is up from the south we will go up lake by the dam.

[coyote]

Went last saturday and caught a limit, brought home 10 each for the freezer. Nothing big, just some good eating fish. Caught an equal number of fish in the main channel by the dam at 55ft and drifting the flats at 20ft with jugs baited with shad. The jugs in the channel would get hit almost immediatley with little cats cleaning off the bait. I have 7/0 circle hooks on the jugs so we didn't catch a lot of those, but they sure cleaned the hooks off in a hurry. Our shad was on the small side and easy for the little cats to pick them off with out getting hooked.

[catfishcentral]

Good to hear you still catching them at Hudson Lake. Those long line jugs are a pain to run sometimes especially when there over fifty feet long and have your limit of jugs out. Have you been back on the Navagation Channel lately?

[coyote]

Hi Chris,
I haven't been on the navigation channel since last year. I drive over it every day though. No water moving now for sure. The long jug lines aren't to bad if you are careful when you pull them up to check the bait. I made the mistake of not putting a swivel on the lead strap I use for a weight that also wraps around the noodle jug to secure the line for storage. When you pull up 50 plus feet of line the mono wants to twist pretty bad. I will be putting swivels on before the next trip.

[catfishcentral]

I pray that we get rain soon. The Navagation channel has had almost zero current for several months now. Last time my buddy threw jugs out they managed only five. I've been bowhunting down there this year but with no current I haven't bothered to throw any jugs out while I'm sitting in the stand. Whenever we do finally get some rain and some good current I'll be down there juggin for sure. I did like those pics of you last year fishing pumpback lake. I bet not having the pressure of motor boats on that lake, that it really has some big cats in there. You caught some nice one's there last winter. Jug fishing with mono line? I'm afraid that would be a tangled mess if I were using it. I stick with braided nylon or polyester it keeps those tangles out and last almost forever, except when my prop runs over a jug. :rolleyes:

[coyote]

A friend of mine said an old school mate caught some 40lb fish out of there about 3 weeks ago on jugs. I almost wish we hadn't started using jugs up there. Before we put the jugs out last year his friends had been rod and reel fishing and only catching a few big ones now and then. Recently they have been taking some big fish on the jugs and I hate to see them taken out. I've started carring a camera, if I catch any that big I'll take a few pics and release them. I never thought about how long it took a fish to get that size untill I saw a show about blue cats on Outdoor Oklahoma. They estimate a 40lb fish is 40 years old, depending on water quality and food supply. The lake is pulled down about 50 to 60 feet for repairs. I haven't been up there yet this year.

[coyote]

Fished Hudson again yesterday. Still catching little blues with the occasional 5lb fish. The lake is down 3 ft and surface water temp is 43 degrees down by the dam area.
Kenny

[coyote]

Fished Hudson on December 20th and caught 15 nice keepers. The average size is starting to pick up. Then on the 31st we really got lucky and caught some real nice ones. The average size was about 6lbs with about a dozen of them in the 12 to 15lb range. We cleaned 54 good eating blues and released the rest. Starting this week the GRDA is releaseing water from Grand into Hudson so they can fill up the pump back lake. Should make for some fantastic fishing this weekend.
Kenny

[catfishcentral]

Sounds like your really tearing them up a Hudson. Hummm...That will be interesting to see how much water they decide to let out of Grand Lake. The fishing sure could be great if enough is let out. Long dry spells like were having sure can change the fishing from good to unbelievable. I'll be watching releases and I just might have to make a trip up to Hudson. Thanks for your fishing reports there Kenny.

[coyote]

The GRDA has decided not to release any water to fill Hudson. Hmmmm...could it be that someone with money at Grand Lake does not want their dock to be sitting in the mud and the muck?

[coyote]

My cousin had another good day on the lake this past Saturday. He and two others caught a limit of blues. They were on the good eating side of big ;)

[coyote]

January 29th was another good day on the lake according to my cousin. He and two of our buddies had the whole lake to themselves.

[coyote]

Just a pic of a couple of good ole boys that have been fishing at Hudson



http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/coyote4x4/kennyandtimblue.jpg

Their skin is air dried pretty bad from the drive home in an open tub.

[Creek6]

I went last Saturday (2/23/06) but the N. wind was tough to fish in. Spent most of the time beach combing. Shad are easy to catch deep in the river channel.

[coyote]

Had a fair day at Lake Hudson (3-4-06). We took home 23 nice eating fish which is the same thing as saying there weren't any biguns. This is probalbly the last trip for cats for awhile. I'm moving on to the crappie.
Kenny

[TDawgNOk]

23 eatin size cats sounds good to me. Makin me start to crave some cats.

[Creek6]

I made it out on Hudson yesterday (031406) it was a great day weatherwise, but slow fishing. The water temp was 52. The shad were hard to find as they seem to be transitioning from the river channel to the shallows. Only caught 3 small blues. Trying again tomorrow.

[coyote]

I actually did make one more trip with my niece and her soon to be husband on the 11th and the bite was very slow. Went to the river below Hudson off of 412 on the 25th and caught a few spoons in the main river and caught a few big female sandies in Pryor creek.

[Fordman]

I need to get some information from anyone who is familiar with Hudson. I am setting up a tournament there for the month of July.
1. Are there any marinas on the lake?
2. Which ramps have large parking areas and are easy to launch from. (I've seen some that were really TUFF)
3. I've read that there is a special inspection sticker that you have to get put on your boat to operate on Hudson or Grand. Does anyone have information on that?
4. Are there any bait shops / convenience stores close to the lake for early morning coffee, etc.?

Thanks in advance for any help in the right direction.

[Creek6]

Call the Lake Hudson Association at 918-434-5595. They recently released a great Chart Book for the lake. It has all the information you are looking for and includes water depths, structure, and hazards.

Short Answers

1 Marinas: 5: I know at least 2 of them sell fuel and have some type of eating establishment. I don't use any of them so my knowledge is kind of limited.
2. Boat Ramps: The two public ones I see used most often for tournaments are Salina (limited parking but a double+ wide ramp) and Snowdale Park (lots of parking but narrow ramp) The phone number for Snowdale ,which is a state park, is 434-2651.
3. GRDA rules say you have to have a safety inspection sticker. Normally the Lake Patrolman issues you one after you pass the safety inspection. I've fished and hunted a lot at Hudson over the last 10 years and I've had contact with a Lake Patrolman 1 time when he inspected my boat and issued a sticker. GRDA lake patrol #918-782-9594. Their boathouse is at the salina Ramp.
4.Salina has several convenience stores / Bait shops /eating establishments. Motels/Walmart are in Pryor (10 miles west)

[PRITCHETTK]

Hudson would be a great place for a tournament. I live in Salina, there are 2 good ramps to hold a tourny. The most popular being Snowdale State Park. What does it take to enter the tournament. Is it open to public or is it just for a club? I have lived and fished here all my life. Just got done running jugs today only caought 15 blues and 3 channels. None over 7 pounds. Going to try rod and reel and more jigs tommorrow.